Representation in Brazil monarchy: disputes over the electoral laws of 1855 and 1860

• Grant number: 13/05146-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2014
• End date: December 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - History - History of Brazil
• Principal Investigator: Miriam Dolhnikoff
• Grantee: Eneas Sicchierolli Neto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research aims to examine different conceptions of representation discussed by the political elite in and out of sessions of the Brazilian Parliament in the period 1855-1872. Hence, it will examine the parliamentary debates of 1855 and 1860 about the electoral legislation reform, confronting them with their respective laws that resulted, seeking also to evaluate alternative proposals prepared and published by José de Alencar, in 1868, and Francisco Belisario in 1872, to the system of elections by circles and to the policy representation in force. The analysis of the discussions in the parliament will enter the examination of conceptions of representation in the context of concrete political clashes, while the texts by José de Alencar and Francisco Belisario, although written by politicians, more theoretical scope, enable the analysis of thought on the part the political elite on the issue in greater depth. (AU)